The Australian Native Seed Sector Survey Report.
By: Hancock, N., Gibson-Roy, P., Driver, M. and Broadhurst, L. (2020). Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Canberra. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
I hope you all had a good break over Easter and managed some rest, re-charging and chocolate consumption. The traditional Easter Treasure Hunt went virtual this year but was still hotly contested and enjoyed by all – thanks to Mariella and her group for organising it! Meanwhile the department has settled into the online teaching and work from home routine with no major issues to report. Regular department, committee and lab group meetings are being held successfully via Zoom, keeping us all connected.
stay healthy & cheerful!
Michelle
Save the Date
This Week
Wed 15th April: Zoom meeting for teaching staff to share ideas and experiences on online delivery (organiser is Linda Beaumont)
Next Week
Wed 22nd April: Zoom meeting for teaching staff to share ideas and experiences on online delivery (organiser is Linda Beaumont)
Weekly Events
Wed: Shut Up and Write sessions – now online! See below for further details
Wed: Department seminars; Schedule ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE – Chris Reid will send out notices for future seminars to be held on Zoom
General News and Announcements
COVID-19 update
GENERAL
- everyone who has been approved to access campus facilities should now have received their official letter. You must call Campus Security on arrival and departure. Otherwise, enjoy working from home!
RESEARCH
- facilities are currently open for essential research. If you are not approved for campus access but would like to be, you should contact Calli Miller. Access to labs/facilities will require sign-off by academic supervisor, lab supervisor, HoD & ExecDean. Physical distancing and working alone guidelines apply.
- only very limited local fieldwork is being approved. Please discuss with our fieldwork managers – Josh (terrestrial) or Nick (marine) – if you would like to go in the field
L&T
- invigilated exams will not be supported by the university for S1
- Wednesday regular zoom drop-in sessions for teaching staff to exchange ideas and stay connected
- likely that S2 will start as online delivery, with potential to transition to face-to-face if restrictions are relaxed
- Reminder that information about resources for online delivery are available at the FSE000 iLearn site, including the Biology section. The Faculty L&T April Newsletter also has lots of tips for online teaching
The Easter Treasure Hunt
Hotly contested by five teams this year, the Griffiths Bird Lab had a narrow victory due to their entry with a live possum. The VC made several virtual appearances also!
Do you have great ideas for staying connected? Want to share what your friends and colleagues are doing to stay physically distant but socially close?
Send us ideas to share, images to post on the Biology Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to Calli Miller: <calli.miller@mq.edu.au>
eResearch Support Tools
A list has been created of eResearch-tools to assist Macquarie staff and students in progressing their research at home where they are able to. The list includes resources for collaboration, citation management, meetings, surveys and human subjects research, training, data sharing and storage, cloud computing, data analysis and connecting to the university. Info on availability, cost, data residency and other important notes is provided.
The list will be linked shortly on the Coronavirus infection – information staff pages.
Human Frontier Science Program – Congratulations to Martin Whiting!
Martin Whiting is part of a team of four led by Jonathan Losos (Washington University) to be awarded $2 million by the Human Frontier Science Program to investigate evolutionary determinism and whether convergently evolved phenotypes are the result of the same or different genetic changes. They will conduct genome-scale analyses to test for genomic regions associated with convergent evolution and conduct functional tests of candidate loci using CRISPR-cas9 gene editing to establish whether the introduced sequence alterations produce the hypothesized behavioral and physiological phenotypes in lizards.
Congratulations to Julianna Kadar!
Julianna was selected for the FameLab New South Wales Semi Finals, and gave a short presentation on how ‘Sharks can wear Fitbits too.’ You can watch Julianna’s presentation here.
Plant of the Week
This week: Sigesbeckia orientalis
A tale of nationalism, religious fervour, and academic jealousy!
Who would have thought this unremarkable, nondescript and uninspiring little plant, so common in bushland gullies round Sydney, could, at one time, have been the centre of malicious, toxic and spiteful controversy?
Read the full story: plant of the week – Sigesbeckia orientalis
OPPORTUNITIES
The 2020 ECA Research Grants are now open!
The Ecological Consultants Association of NSW supports ecological research in Australia and would like to award three grants each year to assist researchers to carry out their ecological projects.
- ECA of NSW Conservation Grant ($2000)
- Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000)
- Bushfire Ecology Research Grant ($1000)
Download a PDF Information and Application Form – Grant Application 2020
Download a Word Application Form – Grant Application Form 2020
Closing date for receipt of applications is 30 April 2020.
Winston Churchill Trust is offering funding to do research overseas
See the Churchill Trust website to apply. Closes 30 April
Note: NOT suitable for HDR candidates
2020 Eureka Prizes program announced
The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are back – and in 2020 we’re marking 30 years of celebrating outstanding scientific achievement. This year, there are 17 prizes on offer across the categories of Research & Innovation, Leadership, Science Engagement and School Science.
Prizes cover a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, aiming to recognise the work of scientists, researchers and science communicators at all career stages. There’s a prize pool of $170,000 to be shared between winners, and it’s free to enter!
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Shut Up and Write Sessions now online!
We have a WhatsApp group and we make times as they suit us, so if you’re interested in being involved, pop Lizzy Lowe an email with your phone number and she’ll add you to the group.
Venture Café – will be convening their community online, via Zoom, and offering the #ThursdayGathering programming in a Virtual format.
For more information visit: https://venturecafesydney.org/whats-on-this-week
Applied BioSciences Seminar Series
Following the establishment of Applied BioSciences at MQ, a fortnightly virtual seminar program has been created with speakers from across the globe as well as from across Australia will present.
Anyone interested just needs to contact Maurizio Benelli (maurizio.benelli@hdr.mq.edu.au) who will add you to the guest list. You would then receive an invitation each fortnight and can then join through the provided Zoom link.
HDR NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES
6th National Postgraduate Training Workshop in Systematics by the University of Adelaide (14 -19 June 2020)
The workshop is designed for PhD students in the first half of their project, but applications will be accepted from anyone who is still within candidature. It is specifically designed for students undertaking projects that have a biological systematics component or are broadly relevant to systematics. There is a maximum of 30 places – available only to students enrolled in Australian and New Zealand Universities, on a first come basis. The registration fee is $400 but this will be reduced when the amount of sponsorship received is known. For more information, see the PhD Workshop Flyer 2020
THIS AND THAT
The Tech Staff team had a special visitor at their morning tea last week.
The funny sides of working from home:
For a little giggle…
Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters
Department Matters submissions now have their own email address. Please send all your news items for the newsletter to <fse.bionewsletter@mq.edu.au>
Have You Missed Out on an Issue of Department Matters? Back issues can be found at this newsletter archive link for your reading pleasure.
New Publications
The first management of a marine invader in Africa: The importance of trials prior to setting long-term management goals
By: Mabin, Clova A., John RU Wilson, Johannes J. Le Roux, Prideel Majiedt, and Tamara B. Robinson. Journal of Environmental Management 261 (2020): 110213. | Find with Google Scholar »The buzz around spatial resolving power and contrast sensitivity in the honeybee, Apis mellifera
By: Ryan, Laura A., Rhianon Cunningham, Nathan S. Hart, and Yuri Ogawa. Vision Research 169 (2020): 25-32. | Find with Google Scholar »If you plant it, they will come: quantifying attractiveness of exotic plants for winter-active flower visitors in community gardens
By: Tasker, Perrin, Chris Reid, Andrew D. Young, Caragh G. Threlfall, and Tanya Latty. Urban Ecosystems 23, no. 2 (2020): 345-354. | Find with Google Scholar »P-model v1.0: an optimality -based light use efficiency model for simulating ecosystem gross primary production
By: Stocker, Benjamin D., Han Wang, Nicholas G. Smith, Sandy P. Harrison, Trevor F. Keenan, David Sandoval, Tyler Davis, and I. Colin Prentice. Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss 2019 (2019): 1-59. | Find with Google Scholar »Neonatal nutritional strategy of a viviparous elasmobranch with extremely low reproductive output
By: de Sousa Rangel, Bianca, Nigel Edward Hussey, Yuri Niella, Luiz Antonio Martinelli, Aline Dal Olio Gomes, and Renata Guimarães Moreira. Marine Ecology Progress Series 638 (2020): 107-121. | Find with Google Scholar »Quantifying imperfect camera-trap detection probabilities: implications for density modelling
By: McIntyre, Trevor, T. L. Majelantle, D. J. Slip, and R. G. Harcourt. Wildlife Research 47, no. 2 (2020): 177-185. | Find with Google Scholar »Extreme and Variable Climatic Conditions Drive the Evolution of Sociality in Australian Rodents
By: Firman, Renée C., Dustin R. Rubenstein, Jessica M. Moran, Kevin C. Rowe, and Bruno A. Buzatto. Current Biology 30, no. 4 (2020): 691-697. | Find with Google Scholar »Bumble bees display cross-modal object recognition between visual and tactile senses
By: Solvi, Cwyn, Selene Gutierrez Al-Khudhairy, and Lars Chittka. Science 367, no. 6480 (2020): 910-912. | Find with Google Scholar »Lessons from 10 Years of Experience with Australia’s Risk-Based Guidelines for Managed Aquifer Recharge
By: Dillon, Peter, Declan Page, Joanne Vanderzalm, Simon Toze, Craig Simmons, Grant Hose, Russell Martin, Karen Johnston, Simon Higginson, and Ryan Morris. Water 12, no. 2 (2020): 537. | Find with Google Scholar »An inter-island comparison of Darwin’s finches reveals the impact of habitat, host phylogeny, and island on the gut microbiome
By: Loo, Wesley T., Rachael Y. Dudaniec, Sonia Kleindorfer, and Colleen M. Cavanaugh. PloS one 14, no. 12 (2019). | Find with Google Scholar »Environmental predictive models for shark attacks in Australian waters
By: Ryan, Laura A., Samantha K. Lynch, Robert Harcourt, David J. Slip, Vic Peddemors, Jason D. Everett, Lisa-Marie Harrison, and Nathan S. Hart. Marine Ecology Progress Series 631 (2019): 165-179. | Find with Google Scholar »Grazing halos on coral reefs: predation risk, herbivore density, and habitat size influence grazing patterns that are visible from space
By: DiFiore, Bartholomew P., Simon A. Queenborough, Elizabeth MP Madin, Valerie J. Paul, Mary Beth Decker, and Adrian C. Stier. Marine Ecology Progress Series 627 (2019): 71-81. | Find with Google Scholar »Life history and ecology of the elegant snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus pulcher) in south-eastern Australia
By: Pike, David A., Elizabeth A. Roznik, Jonathan K. Webb, and Richard Shine. Australian Journal of Zoology 67, no. 1 (2020): 51-58. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Dr Vanessa Pirotta was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Drive about the phenomenon of bioluminescence.
Read more »
Professor Culum Brown provided comment to the Courier-Mail about the rarity of fatal shark attacks after a park ranger was killed in an attack this week.
Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Integrity and Development was featured in the Washington Post regarding the Great Barrier Reef experiencing its most widespread mass bleaching event on record.
Read more »